Quote from: markm on May 29, 2011, 03:30:21 AM

You are actually complaining about fiat currency, but you are mis-directing your complaint by trying to make it sound as if the problem is with the non-fiat currency.

Wrong. I am complaining about the gateways to bitcoin that are available. Because the majority of the world still uses fiat currency this is an issue that merits some discussion.

Quote from: markm on May 29, 2011, 03:30:21 AM

If you had an actual money to begin with, people would accept it for bitcoin readily and easily.

For example you can buy bitcoin with pecunix or with liberty reserve, and if the feds had not shut down e-gold you'd be able to buy it with e-gold too.

But most of the world does not have Pecunix or Liberty Reserve, and most of the world doesn't want to have to go through another currency to get bitcoins. I don't care if I can get bitcoins with Pecunix or Liberty Reserve. I want to buy it directly. It's a major PITA to have to do this. It's a barrier to entry that is entirely unnecessary and you are only holding back the adoption rate by refusing to do anything about it.

Quote from: markm on May 29, 2011, 03:30:21 AM

It is not our fault that the fed shut down e-gold, thus limiting your options slightly.

You're right. Not your fault. But it is the fault of the community that we don't have convenient gateways in place for average consumer types who just want an easy way to make transactions online. Don't try passing the buck here. The problem remains, regardless of whose fault it is. I don't care whose fault it is. All I care about is seeing the issue solved.

Quote from: markm on May 29, 2011, 03:30:21 AM

If you find that buying bitcoin, liberty reserve, pecunix etc using fiat is made hard for you, go complain to your congresspeople or ombudspeople or what not telling them you don't want them reversing your transactions and so on. Or complain to your credit card provider about their giving you a hard time buying electronic currencies or something.

Sure, that's one way of doing things. You can go complain to someone else until they fix things for you. Honestly though? I doubt they care. I'd much rather see someone take this into their own hands and provide something now than see people sit on their hands until someone solves their problems for them.

Quote from: markm on May 29, 2011, 03:30:21 AM

Once you have something reasonable in hand you are fine, a lot of blockchain based currencies become accessible easily once you have some bitcoin for example, since a lot of them don't care to bother at all with fiat, letting bitcoin serve as gateway to that stupid world so they do not have to.

-MarkM-

Calling the world most people live in "stupid" does not make that world go away. The practical barriers still remain. The problems still want to be solved.

You know what? Screw it. I should just make this service. Anyone else interested? I'm working for a startup as their sole programmer, I'm trying to get a little bitcoin service called Bitcoin Pouch off the ground, I'm trying to learn Scala and implement yet another service in it, and I have to leave enough time for my girlfriend so she doesn't start to feel ignored. I'm a little swamped. Help would be greatly appreciated if I'm going to manage anything in this direction.